Puma celebrates its 75th birthday, having been driving the sportswear industry since 1948.
The brand was launched in the small town of Herzogenaurach in Germany, but now distributes products in over 120 countries worldwide. Over the decades, it has achieved some huge accolades, including providing the spikes that Usain Bolt wore when smashing his world records, and the football boots Diego Maradona and Pele used when scoring goals.
To celebrate this impressive milestone, it is planning to focus on its new mantra ‘Forever Faster’.
Adam Petrick, chief brand officer at Puma, said: “PUMA’s founder Rudolf Dassler spoke about giving his athletes the agility and performance of a big cat, today we call this attitude being ‘Forever Faster’.”
He went on to say: “We are extremely proud of our 75 years of history in which we have pushed sports and culture forward and we want to share this amazing story in 2023.”
The brand plans on hosting lots of events this year to celebrate the anniversary, beginning with the launch of the 2023 Formula 1 season in Bahrain, which kicked off at the start of March.
It has had a helping hand in motorsports since 2001 when it supplied footwear and clothing at the Jordan Grand Prix.
Over the last 22 years, it has worked with Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Red Bull Racing, Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 and Scuderia Ferrari.
Most recently, Puma has produced Speedcat Pro racing shoes, which were developed using lightweight fabric to provide speed, comfort and protection for drivers.
Since its conception in the ‘40s, Puma has had a number of world-firsts, including launching the first football boot with screw-in studs in 1952, the first laceless sports shoe Disc in 1991, and the brush spike in 1968. It was also responsible for the Faster+ track and field spikes, which Karsten Warholm recently wore at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 when breaking the 400m hurdles world record.
A spokesperson for the brand said: “Puma established a culture of firsts and gave its athletes the tools to be faster and to perform at the top of their game.”
In honour of the special birthday, Puma has been releasing new products this year. These include the Archive Remastered collection. This sees the brand look at its own design history and update its classic looks for the 21st century.
Its famous Suede collection, which was hugely popular among breakdancers and hip hop artists in the ‘80s, has been revamped, while its RS-X, Rider and Slipstream series have also been relaunched with a touch-up. Colours include black, white and green, with gold accents.
Outside of the sneaker world, Puma is releasing the classic T7 tracksuit, tees and jackets, made with improved materials compared with its sweats from the 1980s and ‘90s.
From a small business launched at a time the world was trying to rebuild itself after World War II to one of the biggest sportswear providers across the globe, Puma has far exceeded anyone’s expectations over the last eight decades.
To join in the celebrations, get yourself some Puma Usain Bolt evospeed disc Tricks, and who knows? You might be breaking records yourself one day!
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